Guide for oil well pipe



July 10, 1962 A. L. GEORGE ET AL 3,043,619

GUIDE FOR OIL WELL PIPE Original Filed Dec. 10, 1957 William 0. LambAlbert L. George INVENTORS Continuation of abandoned application Ser.No. 701,745, Dec. 10, 1957. This applicationMay 23, 1960, Ser.

4 Claims. (Cl. 294-86) This invention comprises a novel and useful pipeelevator stabbing or guide device and more particularly pertains to ameans to facilitate the guiding of a pipe elevator upon successivesections of pipe for the purpose of inst-alling the sections in orremoving them from a well bore.

During the process of drilling or completing a well, of the typeemployed for producing oil or gas from a productive formation, it isnecessary to frequently install or remove successive sections of pipe ina well, such as a drill string, a production tubing, or a casing forwells being completed or to facilitate further drilling operations. Itis common practice to hoist each successive section of pipe into avertical position by means of a flexible line, one end of which isattached to a traveling block assembly and the other end is attached toa tool known as an eleva-tor which is adapted to firmly clamp or gripthe upper section of the pipe for raising or'lowering'the same. Thevertical section of pipe so gripped, is lowered into alignment with thestring of pipe already disposed in a well bore and is screwed, welded orotherwise attached to the previous upper section of pipe of the string,and which latter is held by a gripping mechanism at the floor level ofthe drilling well. When the section of pipe being installed has beenproperly attached onto the previous section, the flexible line with theelevator is lowered onto the upper end of the last section of pipe soattached, the elevator is then caused to grip the pipe, the grippingmechanism at the floor level of the drilling rig is released and thesection of pipe being installed is lowered with the string of pipe towhich it has now been attached into the well bore until the top of thissection isat about the floor levelI The gripping mechanism at the floorlevel is then again engaged to hold the pipe, the elevator grip isreleased, and the operation is repeated with each successive section ofpipe being installed in the well bore.

The present invention pertains particularly to the stabbing of a sectionof pipe into an elevator as the elevator is lowered onto the pipe. Thisoperation as heretobefore practiced requiresthat -a man on the derrickfloor or on a stabbing board move the elevator laterally until the pipeopening in the elevator is directly in vertical alignment with the pipe,a driller or hoist operator then lowering the elevator on to the pipebefore the swinging momentum of the assembly causes the elevator to moveout of such alignment. This operation obviously-requires much eifort, I

demands a great skill and very close coordination between the drill andthe derrick man, occasions very exactingand fatiguing work of thederrick man, is usuallytime-consuming and is a fruitful source ofaccidents in the event of carelessness. a

It is therefore the main objective of the presentinvention to provide adevice which will enable alignment of an elevator with a verticalsection of pipe to be engaged by the latter with a minimum of effort andtime being required and with a maximum of safety for the drilling crew.

A further object of the invention is to provide an attachment which maybe applied to conventional elevators and will greatly facilitate theease and certainty with which the elevator may be stabbed on to asection of pipe.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device in accordancewith the foregoing object which when at- States Ptent 0 3,043,619Patented July 10,1962

2 tached to an elevator will greatly lower the center of gravity of thesame and thereby render it easier to stab a section of pipe with theelevator.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a device in accordancewith the preceding object which by means of a removablecircumferentially extending seg ment thereof will enable access to behad laterally to the bore within the device and to the pipe beinggripped by the elevator. I

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a bottom plan view of the present invention showing thestabbing device mounted upon the bottom end of an elevator;

FIGURE 2 is a view in vertical longitudinal section taken substantiallyupon the plane indicated by the section line 2-2 of FIGURE 1, parts ofthe device being shown in section and the elevator being shown in elevation therein, the section of the pipe being stabbed'being shown in fulllines in illustration of the manner in which the device stabs the pipewith the elevator and in dotted lines showing the position of the pipeafter the same has been stabbed by the elevator and gripping by thesame;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary view in vertical central section taken on anenlarged scale substantially upon the plane indicated by the sectionline 3-3 of FIGURE 2, a part of the lower end of the elevator jaws beingshown in elevation therein; and

FIGURE 4 is an elevation view taken from the left end of FIGURE 3 andshowing the removable segment of the attachment in accordance with thisinvention.

Indicated generally by the numeral 10 in the accompanying drawings is aconventional'forrn of pipe elevator, commonly employed for Well drillingoperations,- which may be either of the movable jaw type or of the solidring type as desired. Secured to and depending from the lower portion ofthe elevator 10 is the stabbing device desig nated generally by thenumeral 12 and forming the subject matter of the present invention. Thestabbing device comprises a body having a flat plate-like upper flange14- which may be suitably apertured to receive bolts 16 or the likewhereby the stabbing device may be removably secured to the bottomsurface of the elevator 10.- Alternatively, any other desired fasteningmeans may-be employed for removably securing the stabbing device to theelevator,

. and in some instances the stabbing device maybe integrally formed withthe elevator. 1

In any event, the stabbing device in addition to the laterallyprojecting upper flange 14 by which the same is mounted upon theelevator, includes a central opening 18 which is adapted to be alignedwith the opening through the elevator which receives a pipe section 20,and the opening 18 is of at least diameterequal to thatlextendingthrough the elevator for receiving the pipe section 20.

The body below the mounting flange 14 is provided with a preferablyconical downwardly and outwardly flaring skirt 22, the inner surface ofthe skirt having a conical guide surface 24 which at its upper endmerges into the opening 18.

It will be observed that the lower edge of the skirt 22 has its outsidediameter somewhat less than that of the mounting plate 14, and theinternal diameter of the guide surface 24 at its lower end issufiiciently greater than that of the opening 18 to permit the elevatorto be-moved considerably off-center wtih respect to the pipe section 20,asindicated in full lines in FIGURE 2, and yet as the elevator islowered will guide the pipe into the opening 18 of the stabbing deviceand thus into the opening in the elevator for gripping engagement by thelatter.

It is an important feature of this invention to provide a stabbingdevice of sufficient weight so that when the same is mounted upon thelower end of the elevator, it will appreciably lower the center ofgravity of the combined elevator and stabbing device until the center ofgravity is adjacent or even below the bottom surface of the elevatoritself. This lowering of the center of gravity prevents possible tiltingor swinging of the elevator from a truly vertical positon as the same islowered by its supporting means upon the section to be gripped thereby,thereby increasing the certainty and facilitating the proper attachmentof the elevator upon the upper end of the pipe section 20.

In certain situations and conditions of use, it may be undesirable orimpractical to place the elevator and stabbing device-above the upperend of a pipe section 20.

In order to specifically adapt the device for operation under suchconditions, there is provided a radially removable circumferentiallyextending segment 26 which extends part of the total circumferentialextent of the stabbing device and which extends the entire verticallength of the stabbing device and extends radially inwardly to theopening 18 thereof. Obviously, when the segment 26 is removed an axiallyextending radially disposed slot is provided through the stabbing devicewhereby ready access may be had to the pipe for moving the stabbingdevice laterally thereof to position the pipe within the stabbing deviceor to remove the stabbing device from a pipe;',or to obtain access tothe pipe on the lower end of the elevator for various purposes.

' The removable secti-oncomprises a pair of substantially parallelradially projecting axially extending mounting flanges 28 which arereceived between and which are adapted to be' secured to correspondingmounting flanges 30 carried by the body of the stabbing device onopposite sides of the radial notch therein, while removable fasteningbolts 32 extend through these flanges for detachably securing theremovable section to the body of the stabbing device.

The removable section has an apertured lug or web 34 projecting radiallytherefrom and extending axially there of between the mounting flanges 28and received in the vice 30.

As will be readily understood, in some instances, it may be desired toomitthe removable segment 26 in order to provide a simpler and lessexpensive construction of the device. However, the form of deviceillustrated contains a removable segment which will not only perform allof the functions of a non-segmented stabbing device, but also willpermit lateral positioning of the device upon or removal of the devicefrom a pipe section as hereinbefore set forth.

This is a continuation of our prior copending application bearing SerialNo. 701,745, filed December 10, 1957, now abandoned.

Theforegoingis considered as illustrative only of the principles of theinvention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed. i

What is claimed is: i

l. A combination pipe elevator and stabbing device for raising andlowering a pipe comprising, an elevator having a pipe receiving openingextending therethrough,

, ing opening to guide pipe into said opening so that it may be engagedby the elevator for raising and lowering comprising, a body, said bodyhaving a downwardly extending skirt, said skirt defining an opening atits lower edge, a laterally projecting annular flange on said bodyforming a mounting means for removably securing said body to theunderside of said elevator to align said opening in said skirt with saidelevator pipe receiving opening, a downwardly flaring surface on saidskirt, said surface extending from said lower skirt edge and merging atits upper end toward said elevator pipe receiving opening to form aguide surface to guide pipe into said aligned elevator pipe receivingopening, and means whereby pipe and said body may be moved radially ofeach other to disengage said body and the pipe, said means comprising aportion extending around a part of the circumference of andsubstantially the vertical length of said body, dc tachable means forsecuring said portion in position on the underside of said elevator andin circumferential alignment with said body whereby said guide surfaceextends 360 on said skirt, said detachable means also functioning toaccommodate removal of said portion whereby said body is radiallyremovable from about the pipe.

2. A pipe gripping and lifting tool comprising in com bination a pipeelevator and a pipe stabber mounted thereon, said pipe elevator having apipe receiving axial opening therethrough and pipe gripping jawsdisposed in said opening, said stabber comprising a body having an axialpipe receiving opening therethrough registering with said opening insaid elevator, said body including a mounting'means for securing thebody to the underside of said elevator, the underside of said bodyhaving a conically downwardly opening, upwardly converging guide surfacemerging with said body opening, and means whereby pipe and said body maybe moved radiallyv of each other to disengage said body and the pipe,said means comprising a portion extending around a part of thecircumference of and substantially the vertical length of said body,detachable means for securing said portion in position on the undersideof said elevator and in circumferential alignment with said body wherebysaid guide surface extends 360, said detachable means also functioningto accommodate removal of said portion whereby said body is radiallyremovable from about the pipe.

3. A pipe elevator stabbing device for securing adjacent the pipereceiving opening in a pipe elevator to guide pipe into the pipereceiving opening so that it may be engaged by the elevator for raisingand lowering comprising, a body, said body having an opening therein,said body including a laterally projecting annular flange forming amounting means for securing said body to the underside of the elevatorto align said opening in said body with the elevator pipe receivingopening, said body having a downwardly extending skirt, said skirtdefining an opening at its lower edge, an inner surface on said skirtextending from said lower skirt edge and merging at its upper end withsaid body opening to form a guide surface to guide pipe into said bodyopening and aligned elevator pipe opening, and means whereby pipe andsaid body may be, moved radially of each other to disengage said bodyand the pipe, said means comprising a portion extending around a part ofthe circumference of and substantially the vertical length of said body,detachable means for securing said portion in position on the undersideof the elevator'and in circumferential alignment with said body wherebysaid guide surface extends 360 on said skirt, said detachable means alsofunctioning to accommodate removal of said portion whereby said body isradially removable from about the pipe.

4. A pipe elevator stabbing device for securing adjacent the pipereceiving opening in a pipe elevator to guide pipe into the pipereceiving opening so that it may be engaged by the elevator for raisingand lowering comprising, a body, said body having an opening therein,said body including a laterally projecting flange forming a mountingmeans for securing said body to the underside of said elevator to alignsaid opening in said body with the elevator pipe receiving opening, saidbody having a downwardly extending skirt, said skirt definingan openingat its lower edge, an inner surface on said skirt extending from saidlower skirt edge and merging at its upper end with said body opening toform a guide surface to guide pipe into said body opening and alignedelevator pipe opening, means forming a handle on said body for manuallymanipulating the pipe elevator stabbing device, and means whereby pipeand said body may be moved radially of each other to disengage said bodyand the pipe, said means comprising a portion extending around a part ofthe circumference of and substantially the vertical length of said body,detachable means for securing said portion in position on the undersideof said elevator and in circumferential alignment with said body Wherebysaid guide surface extends 360 on said skirt, said detachable means alsofunctioning to accommodate removal of said portion whereby said body isradially removable from about the pipe.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS LewisAug. 21, 1900 Braun June 3, 1919 Dailey Sept. 7, 1920 Segelhorst Sept.7, 1926 Montgomery Sept. 28, 1926 Montgomery Apr. 3, 1928 Iurey Oct. 28,1930 Young et a1 Aug. 1, 1933 Rhoads Aug. 15, 1950 Fitch July 24, 1951Stone Dec. 8, 1953 Gentry Sept. 16, 8

FOREIGN PATENTS Germany Oct. 1, 1913

